Pride

Pride seems to be the root sin of all sins.  We think we know best, so we do things our way rather than God's way.  This is a huge problem for me and something I struggle with on a daily basis.  In Mark 10:43-44, it says, "But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all."  Jesus teaches us that we must be humbly submissive servants.  This means that we don't need to have our way or even that we need other people to see us serve and recognize us for serving.  The way of the Pharisees is to only serve and do "religious things" when others are looking.  We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and serve Him simply because we belong to Him and love serving Him.

Sometimes, this is really hard.  My flesh wants people to see how much I have done for them and acknowledge it.  Especially as a mom and homemaker.  My flesh wants some gratitude and even some help.  My flesh wants somebody to serve me on occasion.  But these are things of my flesh.  These are lies that Satan is telling me about what it means to be "fulfilled" and useful.  These are things of pride.  

I often think of sin like a cancer.  Pride is an insidious sickness in our hearts growing all around and through it.  If we don't let God cut it out and remove it from us, it will kill us.  When we surrender our lives to Christ, the surgery begins.  This surgery is not quick or easy.  God takes care to carefully cut out the pride in our lives and all its fibrous growth and mutations.  We have to be willing, though.  We have to be willing to lay on the operating table and deal with the pain of recovery after each cut so that we can be healed completely.  A lot of that healing involves serving and loving others, putting others above ourselves, so that we can learn humility.  The heart fully healed is humble and submissive.  

Lord, may my heart be yours - humble and submissive, fully healed in You.

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